Throughout history, there has been various contemporary women artist who has made tremendous breakthrough for women from all walks of life. It is because of these extraordinary women that we are now able to freely express ourselves today. In this class, we have opened up the conversation of women and their art. The genres these women tackled were gender, class, art history and race. All of the women that I will be speaking about in this post embody what it is to take risks and not only stand up, but speak out against the male gaze and inequality.
One artist that I would like to highlight in this post would be Barbara Kruger. She was born right here in Newark in 1945. She is a contemporary artist who is famous for her layered photos. Through her work she inspires people to analyze and not just take quick glances of her art. Barbara Kruger’s art critique identity and gender. You can find her pieces in museums and galleries worldwide, along with other places that captivate the attention of big groups of people. As said on her website, “Much of her text questions the viewer about feminism, classicism, consumerism, and individual autonomy and desire, although her black-and-white images are culled from the mainstream magazines that sell the very ideas she is disputing.”
In this work of art by Barbara Kruger, she tackles feminism.
| Barbara Kruger, your body is a battleground |
Another contemporary woman artist I would like to talk about is Cecily Brown. She was born in 1969 and is often compared to Willem de Kooning and Francis Bacon. Her work shows a female’s viewpoint. She currently lives in New York City, but was born in London.
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| Cecily Brown, Combing The Hair, 2013 |
Adrian Piper is an artist that we learned about in class. She was not only an artist, but a philosopher whose artwork spoke volumes about racism. She took part in a play to help bring awareness to racism. She used herself, an African-American woman who could pass for white. She was born in New York City.
| Adrian Piper, Cornered 1988 |
Judy Chicago is one of my favorite contemporary artists we discussed in this class. At first, learning about her work was intriguing, but actually seeing the immense amount of detail in “The Dinner Party” was different. Going to Brooklyn to see her exhibit, was truly worth it. I was surprised by a lot of what I saw. “The Dinner Party” was an interpretation of these powerful women from history sitting and having a meal together. Each of their places at the table were unique to each woman, but they had some things in common. I believe that this speaks volumes to women across society today. Although we each have something different and powerful to bring to the table, we are all one in the same in some way.
| Judy Chicago, The Dinner Party 1974–79. |
Nona Faustine is the last woman I would like to talk about in this post. I first saw her work right here in the Haynes Building and again at the Brooklyn Museum. She tackles race and the history of Africans. She is a photographer and visual artist. Nona was also born in Brooklyn. Her work which focuses on history, identity and representation has been published internationally.
| Nona Faustine, "Isabelle", White Shoes Series, 2016 |
Works cited
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